"Bom, am I a lost soul?"

 

Dragon's voice echoed throughout the bedroom amidst the light drumming of the rain. Bom looked at him with concern in her eyes. Her forehead was lined with beads of sweat. The silence that followed was almost deafening. Bom could almost hear her own heart pounding.

 

"Don't you remember anything? Any memories?" Bom asked.

 

Dragon shook his head. "Aniyo..." his voice trailed off as he looked out of the open window. The rain lightly drizzled in the room. Bom got up to close the window with one shut. Dragon quickly finished the remaining cookies while Bom crouched to his side.

 

"Yah, Dragon... don't worry, I'll do my best to help you regain your memories." Bom gently patted the feline's white head.

 

~~

 

The next day, the sun was up and cheery again on the weekend. It was surprising, given the succession of bad weather throughout the rest of the week. Bom awoke to a soft warm feeling near her arm. She saw the sleeping cat curled up beside her. She gave him a little nudge.

 

"Dragon?" she called but the cat was still fast asleep.

 

Bom slowly got up and checked the time on her small bedside table. 8:32. "Omo, I'm late for school!" she exclaimed and hurried for her school uniform. She was halfway on buttoning her school blouse when she remembered it was a Saturday. "Aigo, what's happening to me. I'm being so clumsy and forgetful." she thought as she changed back to her pajamas.

 

She went downstairs and heard her mother's hushed voice talking on the phone.  

 

"Ah~ don't worry it's all taken care of, arasseo? Ne~ ne~ I already deposited the money." Bom overheard her mother said. She furrowed her brows in confusion. She has no idea who her mother is talking to and what she was talking about. "Money? Is umma having problems regarding money?"

 

Outside, Bom could hear the mechanical sound of a car engine starting. "Appa? He just left?" She thought as she watched the red car drive away from her sight. Her mom's voice continued to speak to the phone in inaudible whispers. Bom just silently retreated back to her bedroom and decided to take a quick shower. Dragon was still deep in his slumber.

 

"Omo, I have part-time job today." Bom suddenly remembered as she got out of the bathroom. "I'm sorry Dragon, I can't take you at work."

~~

 

"Kamsahamnida~" Bom said with a bow as two female customers left. She gave them a small smile before closing the door. Bom sighed as she straightened her brown apron. She looked at the empty cafe and cleared up the table. The smell of coffee and cocoa lingered in the air which instantly perked Bom up. Outside the window, she caught a glimpse of a black cat walking on the pavement. She suddenly remembered Dragon that she left sleeping on her bedroom. She left him a note saying when she was and when she'll come back. "Oh, I hope he doesn't leave the house again." she thought.  All of a sudden, a soft piano tune echoed throughout walls of the small cafe. A petite middle-aged woman peeked through from the kitchen.

 

"Bommie, everything's okay there?" she asked.

 

"Ne, ahjumma~ nothing to worry about." Bom answered with a smile. The woman, Mrs. Hwang, is the owner of the small cafe which she took over from her late husband. It's a quaint cafe which is run by herself with the help from other part-timers. She bakes all the breads and pastries sold on the cafe while Bom helps with the drinks and serving the customers.

 

Mrs. Hwang went out of the kitchen with a big tray full of freshly baked cream eclairs. Bom felt watering.

 

"Oh~ that looks good ahjumma."

 

"Ahaha, here have one, Bommie. We aren't that busy today." she handed Bom one piece of eclair. Bom accepted it with a smile. She was about to take a bite from it when the door suddenly opened. She set the eclair down with a sigh on the counter to attend to the customer.

 

"O, it's you.." Bom suddenly exclaimed.

 

"Aigo, Bommie, is that the proper way to greet a customer?" Mrs. Hwang asked and looked at the customer who just came in. "Ah, it's Se Hun-ah~ welcome welcome."

 

"Kamsahamnida." Se Hun answered and sat on the corner of the cafe farthest from the door.

 

"Will you have your regular order~?" Mrs. Hwang asked with a smile. Bom scowled at him behind the counter.

 

"Ne, ahjumma." he nodded.

 

Mrs. Hwang went behind the counter and whispered to Bom "Yah, Bommie, that guy's a regular ever since I could remember. Just be nice to him, okay?" Bom just nodded in reply. "His order is one latte and a fruit tart by the way. I'll just be at the backroom to rest a bit, arasseo?"

 

"Ne, arasseo, ahjumma." Bom said with a smile which quickly disappeared from her face once Mrs. Hwang was gone. She quickly prepared his latte and shot him a look of disdain. Se Hun was busy reading a thick book to even notice Bom's death glares. He lightly tapped his foot to the beat of the classical music. Bom walked over to his table and set his coffee and dessert with a bang. Se Hun looked up from his book and to his cup of latte.

 

"Mwo?" Bom asked.

 

"I want that kind of latte~" Se Hun pointed to a photo pinned to the blackboard menu - a cup of coffee with a latte art of a smiling cat. It was something Bom had done on a whim when she was bored a few weeks back.

 

"Are you serious?" Bom asked with a sigh. She couldn't tell if he was mocking her or if he was being serious. Se Hun nodded with a smile while she frowned.

 

"Arasseo, arasseo." Bom said and took the cup of coffee back to the counter. "Ahjussi." she muttered under her breath.

 

Se Hun watched her from his seat and observed how she fussed over the latte art, paying attention to every small details. It was a coincidence that he found out abiut Bom working at this small cafe. Se Hun was on his way to his university when he saw her walking towards the cafe he frequently visits. Since he wanted to talk to her, he decided to follow Bom after his morning classes.

 

He looked up from his book again and that was when he noticed something from the corner of his eye. A white cat was looking from outside the big window. If it was just any cat, he wouldn't care. But it was a peculiar looking cat, its color a shade between blue and white. And its deep blue eyes never left Bom. Se Hun glanced back to Bom but it seemed like she hasn't noticed the cat outside yet.

 

Bom carefully set the cup of latte on Se Hun's table. A cute latte cat in precise details greeted him in his cup. "Omo, it looks exactly the same in the picture. You did this?" he exclaimed in surprise.

 

"Ne, any problem?" Bom asked.

 

"Aniyo, aniyo... It's just, it's done very well." Se Hun said still hesitating if he will put sugar on his coffee with the fear of destroying the cute latte art. He didn't know that Bom was capable of creating something like it. At first, Se Hun just asked her to make it just for the sake of annoying her.

 

"Gomawo..." Bom muttered before heading back to the counter.

 

"W-wait!" he called out and Bom stopped to face him. The piano has stopped and the cafe was enveloped in silence.

 

"Mwo?" Bom asked and shot him a puzzled look.

 

"Can we talk for a while?" 

 

"I don't think there's anything we could talk about, ahjussi." 

 

"Aish, don't call me ahjussi~ this girl." Se Hun took a careful sip of his latte and motioned Bom to sit down. "I'm Oh Se Hun, a university student and part-time librarian."

 

"I'm Park Bom, a student of--"

 

"Cheonan Girls' right?" Se Hun cut Bom as she sat across him.

 

"Oh, how did you know?"

 

"Last time, when we met you wore your school uniform"

 

"Oh, right..." Bom nodded and crossed her legs. The CD started playing again and a Wagner composition echoed through the near empty cafe. Outside, the sun was high and hot although the imminent gray clouds lingered in the periphery. "Last time, in the library, you mentioned something about a lost soul. What do you mean by that?"

 

Se Hun smiled between sips of his coffee and cleared his throat. He looked sternly at Bom before he spoke. "Why are you interested, anyway?" he asked with a smile.

 

"Just out of curiosity, I guess." Bom answered nonchalantly and tried her best to hide her anticipation and nervousness at the same time.

 

"Hmmm.." Se Hun crossed his arms and studied Bom's face. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the cat whose eyes are still fixed at Bom. "I know this girl is hiding something. I wonder if she'll tell me her secret once I tell her mine." he thought as he finished his fruit tart which has gone cold.

 

"Ahjussi, I still have a lot to do..." Bom said in an annoyed voice as Se Hun ate his dessert. She stood up and swiftly picked her tray up. She turned her back at him and went towards the counter.

 

"I used to be a lost soul, too." Se Hun suddenly spoke. Bom stopped dead in her track and faced Se Hun again. "But someone saved me." He continued and took out his leather wallet.

 

"Wh-what happened?" Bom asked as she stood frozen on her spot. She gripped the edges of her plastic tray until her knuckles turned white.

 

"All because she saved me, now she's gone." Se Hun said and left a couple of bills on the table. He glanced at his watch and hurriedly gathered his things. 

 

"W-wait, what do you mean by that?" Bom asked but Se Hun was on his feet and about to leave. "Yah, ahjussi!"

 

"Don't worry Bom-ah, we'll talk again. I know we'll meet again soon." Se Hun answered with a wave of his hand. In one quick motion, he was out of the door leaving Bom alone inside the small, quaint cafe with a confused look plastered all over her face.

 

As Se Hun walked out, he saw the white cat staring at him. There was something weird about the cat although he couldn't really pinpoint to it. He wasn't sure if it was its strange color or its deep yet empty eyes. Or the way the cat watched Bom as if the cat was human. Or probably the combination of all. He looked back at the cat and before walking away he muttered, "Be careful, little cat, don't get too attached to her."

 

~~

 

It was mid-afternoon when Bom slowly removed her brown apron and hung it on the backroom. Her shift has ended but she still doesn't want to head back home. She sighed as she passed by Mrs. Hwang who was now behind the counter.

 

"Ahjumma, are you sure you can manage here alone?" Bom asked politely.

 

"Ah, don't worry about me, Bommie. I can manage by myself." Mrs. Hwang flashed a hearty smile and handed a small envelope to Bom. She also took out a small box of eclairs for Bom to take home. "Here's something extra for you dear."

 

"Oh, I'm sorry for troubling you." Bom said and bowed her perfect 90-degree bow. 

 

"Aigo, no need to thank me. I'll see you again next week, alright?" 

 

"Ne, kamsahamnida." Bom said and bowed again before she left the empty cafe. Upon stepping outside, she was greeted by a familiar pair of round, blue eyes.

 

"Meow~" Dragon purred and rubbed his fluffy body against her legs.

 

"Yah, Dragon, what the hell are you doing here?" Bom hissed and continued walking. But Bom didn't hear any reply from the cat. "Oh, is there something wrong?" she asked and waited for Dragon who walked in a slow pace.

 

"Aniyo." Dragon finally replied while he followed in her heels. "I was just bored at home." His astral form appeared beside Bom and she jumped back in surprise.

 

"Yah, don't do that all of a sudden." Bom muttered as she tried to regain her composure. "I'll die of heart attack here." But Dragon was silent the whole time. Bom stole a glance from the corner of her eyes. Dragon was listlessly staring with a blank look on his face. Something was bothering him but Bom has no idea what it was. 

 

"Dragon?" she called out but he continued to ignore her. "Yah, Dragon, I'm talking to you." Bom repeated louder. Several people on the street turned and looked at her as if she was crazy. A little boy pointed at her direction while his mother hushed him up. "Aigo this is embarassing." she thought and began to walk faster. Dragon was still silently following beside her.

 

Halfway through, Bom felt the sharp drizzle of rain hit her cheeks. She hurriedly took out her yellow umbrella before the afternoon downpour begins. A little later, the pitter-patter of the rain drummed along the streets of Cheonan. Bom hurried her pace as the sky darkened and the sun was replaced by heavy grey clouds.

 

"Bom..." she heard Dragon called out. Bom looked back and hurried to the cat and picked him up.

 

"Aigo, are you feeling cold?" Bom asked and kept him warm between her arms. She continued to walk and as she turned around the corner, her eye caught a red car parked in front of their house. Bom's eyes widened as she gripped the umbrella handle.

 

"Oh, appa's home early." she thought as she approached their home with trepidation and nervousness under the dark gray sky.

 

~

Finally an update! Sorry, i've just been so busy with school this past few weeks plus I still have no access to a computer most of the time anddd we have no internet last week.. OTL thank you for sticking up with me until this point.

 

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